Help me be a trend setter

As a young man, I always took pride in being in style. In the 80â€™s, I had several pairs of stone-washed jeans that I could cuff at the bottom. I also had my share of pastel shirts. In the early 90â€™s I had a decent selection of silk shirts and due to my outstanding sense of style I reluctantly quit wearing the stone-washed jeans as they faded into obscurity.

As Iâ€™ve grown older my taste in clothing has changed, but my sense of style is as solid as it was when I was wearing a pair of bright yellow slacks with suspenders in 1987 (which I also had in a light blue pastel) or the parachute pants, tuxedo shirt, bowtie and gangster hat in 1984. I know…youâ€™re probably thinking to yourself right now, â€śWow! He had it going on.â€ť To that I respond â€“ Donâ€™t be jealous.

The late 1990s changed everything for me. Yes, I still had my dazzling sense of style, but I also had responsibilities. Gone were the days of being able to go out and blow half of my paycheck on new clothes. I had a wife and eventually a daughter to take care of. My choices were formula for the kid and pay the rent or new clothes. I was quickly becoming style-less. I was about as dazzling as a Bedazzler without any gems. I looked as sharp as a Nerf sword. I lookedâ€¦I looked like my dad, except my dad was starting to look more stylish than me with all of his sons out of the house. Even now his suit and tie combinations are the envy of television evangelists everywhere. Granted, his sense of style is a reflection of my momâ€™s sense of style since he wears whatever she buys. The only area where I can come close to comparing to his style is with my two sweater vests, which I have to say make me look dashing.

The past couple of summers have reaffirmed my sense of style has not left me. Itâ€™s not because Iâ€™m able to go out and buy the latest and greatest clothes. Better yetâ€¦style just seems to be revolving around me. Let me share a few examples:

Have you noticed a lot of the young men with their pants hanging a little lower than normal? That is because of me. I forgot my belt once and bent over to pick something up and they slid down a little on my backside. My wife yelled at me to pull them up. If she had only known the stylish trend I was starting she probably would have praised me rather than yell at me.

Check out the kids todayâ€¦Crocs with Socks (aka Socks and Sandals).Â Again, I will take credit for that one. We were in Florida and the sand was hot. I chose to wear socks and sandals to the beach to avoid getting my feet burned by the little grains of sand. Someone must have seen me do it and the trend took off. I canâ€™t take all of the credit for the newest look. Black socks and sandals (with shorts). That is ingenious! Back in my day black socks and shorts were a huge no-no. But I have to say I like the new look. I may just have to try it.

Get ready for the newest trend Iâ€™m trying to start. Since Iâ€™ve already done the jeans hanging off my backside thing, my next trend will be to start wearing my pants around my belly. I give it two summers before this one really gets going. Attention all high school boys â€“ now is the time to start wearing your pants higher. Help me be a trend setter.